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Player ratings: Scots over the moon

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:58

Scotland were able to complete historic back to back victories over Australia and they worked extremely hard for the win.

In testing conditions and under incredible pressure on their own tryline for almost the entire second half they defended brilliantly.

They will never be accused of being an exciting team to watch, but they tackled themselves into the ground to hold on for the victory.

The rain was cold and tough, but the Scots were able to handle that much better than their Australian rivals.

rugby365.com rates the Scotland players:

15 Stuart Hogg:
No real chance to run with the ball and show the skills he demonstrated in the Six Nations, but he guarded the back efficiently.5/10

14 Joe Ansbro:
Came close to scoring a try after an up an under wasn't fielded by the Wallabies and wanted to run, but the weather called for forward play.6/10

13 Nick De Luca:
Hardly saw the ball and didn't get very involved considering what his teammates were doing.4/10

12 Matt Scott:
Tried to get involved in some of the play where he could lend a hand to his forwards and tackled well. He had one line-break that could have created something carrying the ball strongly.6/10

11 Sean Lamont:
Was forgotten out on the wing and might as well have gone inside for a cup of tea.4/10

10 Greig Laidlaw:
Struggled to get any distance into the wind with the clearing penalties from inside his own 22m, but he landed the kicks that mattered under a lot of pressure.7/10

9 Mike Blair:
Not a great day at the office with a wet ball to contend with and too many weak passes.5/10

8 John Barclay:
He was brilliant, making tackles and getting involved everywhere and the standout forward in the Scottish pack.9/10

7 Ross Rennie:
Gave away a few penalties, but was always in the thick of the action and making tackles for the cause.7/10

6 Alasdair Strokosch:
Carried the ball strongly at first receiver and tackled and tackled and tackled until he was exhausted, and then tackled some more.8/10

5 Richie Gray:
The towering lock was immense for the Scots and adds some bulk to their mauls and made as many tackles as anybody on the field.8/10

4 Alastair Kellock:
Was good and got stuck in without really standing out, but he did some of the unflattering work on the ground.6/10

3 Euan Murray:
Scrummed very well and won the crucial penalty by hammering James Slipper in the scrums at the end of the match.8/10

2 Ross Ford (captain):
Seldom made it over the advantage line with ball in hand and in the wind his line-outs were terrible.3/10

1 Ryan Grant:
Anonymous pretty much from start to finish, but held up his end in the scrums.5/10

Replacements:

16 Scott Lawson:
Not used

17 Jon Welsh:
Not used

18 Tom Ryder:
Not used

19 Richie Vernon:
Not used

20 Chris Cusiter (On for Mike Blair, 64th min):
Not long enough to be rated accurately